Plea Agreement or Trial? Understanding Your Choices and Your Attorney's Role

When you or someone you love is charged with a crime, one of the most significant decisions in the case is whether to accept a plea agreement or take the matter to trial. It's a decision that can shape the rest of a person's life, and it's one that ultimately belongs to the client, not the attorney. Understanding how that decision gets made, and what your lawyer is required to do along the way, can make a stressful process feel a little more manageable.

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Every case is unique — consult a qualified Wisconsin criminal defense attorney for guidance specific to your situation.

Though some cases may be resolved with a dismissal of the case, far more criminal cases must be resolved in one of two ways:

1. 1. Plea Agreement. Plea agreements can include many options for resolution, from diversion to pleas of guilty or no contest. While prosecutors are not obligated to make plea offers, they have an incentive to resolve cases with a plea because going to trial is too much work to do for every case. Usually the prosecutor will use the plea agreement to offer some incentive for the client to resolve the matter without a trial. That could include dismissing some charges or amending them to less serious charges, it can also include a recommended sentence. For defendants, plea agreements can offer certainty, reduced exposure to maximum penalties, and a faster resolution. They also mean giving up the right to have the state prove its case and giving up most avenues for appeal.

   2. Trial. If no plea agreement is reached, or if the defendant chooses not to accept one, the case proceeds to trial. Here, there's a second choice between a jury trial, where a panel of citizens decides guilt or innocence, or a court trial (sometimes called a bench trial), where a judge hears the evidence and renders the verdict. Each option carries different strategic considerations like: jury composition, the judge's tendencies, the complexity of the legal issues, and the nature of the evidence can all factor into which is more advantageous in any given case.

There is no one-size-fits-all answer. The right choice depends on the strength of the evidence, the charges involved, the client's goals, and a realistic assessment of risk.

One of the clearest ethical obligations for a defense attorney is the requirement to convey every plea offer to the client. In Wisconsin, this obligation is grounded in SCR 20:1.4, the Rules of Professional Conduct governing communication between lawyer and client. That rule requires attorneys to promptly inform clients of decisions requiring their consent, to keep clients reasonably informed about the status of a matter, and to explain matters to the extent reasonably necessary for the client to make informed decisions. Even an offer the attorney thinks is unreasonable, insulting, or clearly worse than what's likely at trial still has to be communicated, explained, and left for the client to weigh.

This duty exists because plea decisions are fundamentally about the client's life, liberty, and future, not the attorney's strategic preferences. An attorney who fails to relay an offer, or who lets one lapse without informing the client, isn't just making a mistake; they're depriving the client of a decision that the law says belongs to them.

Alongside the duty to communicate is a duty to explain all offers. It's not enough to simply hand over an offer; a client needs to understand what they're being offered, what pleading would mean for their record, their rights, potential immigration consequences, sentencing exposure, and how the offer compares to the likely outcomes at trial. Good counsel means translating legal complexity into terms a client can actually use to make an informed choice.

This is a point worth stating plainly: the decision to accept a plea or go to trial belongs to the client. Attorneys bring legal knowledge, case analysis, courtroom experience, and an honest assessment of the risks and likely outcomes. But certain decisions are the client's alone to make, including:

• Whether to plead guilty or not guilty
• Whether to accept a particular plea offer
• Whether to have a jury trial or a court trial
• Whether to testify at trial

Wisconsin's rule on the scope of representation and allocation of authority between lawyer and client, SCR 20:1.2, makes this explicit. It provides that a lawyer must abide by the client's decisions concerning the objectives of representation and specifically requires the lawyer to consult with the client and abide by the client's decision on matters such as whether to enter a plea, waive a jury trial, and whether the client will testify. The lawyer's role under this rule is to counsel and advise, not to substitute their own judgment for the client's on these fundamental choices.

A good defense attorney will offer a clear recommendation when asked, and will be honest about the risks of a given path. But that advice is meant to inform the client's decision, not replace it. At the end of the day, it's the client who lives with the outcome, and it's the client who gets to decide how much risk to accept in pursuit of a better result.

If you're facing a criminal charge, here's what you should expect from your attorney:

1. 1. You will be told about every offer, even ones your attorney thinks you should reject.
   2. You will get a real explanation of what each offer means, not just legal jargon, but a plain-language breakdown of consequences and alternatives.
   3. You will get an honest assessment of your case's strengths, weaknesses, and likely outcomes at trial, including the differences between a jury trial and a court trial where that choice is relevant.
   4. You make the final call. Your attorney advises. You decide.
      
      

Choosing between a plea and a trial is rarely simple, and it's not a decision anyone should have to make without full information and candid guidance. If you or someone you know is navigating this choice, the most important first step is having a real conversation with an attorney who will lay out the options clearly — and then respect that the choice is yours to make.